A Garden for Two
by Lightspeed Bubba
Summary: Ruby's first few days at Beacon Academy haven't been going like she'd hoped. Her partner hates her, they fight seemingly no matter how hard Ruby tries to be her friend, and now it looks like Weiss wants Ruby replaced as Team Leader. Ozpin introduces Ruby to Beacon's Gardens to help clear her head and from there, something beautiful blooms. (Cover art by Wander2theedge)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, my first story of the new year is one that I wrote six months ago and sat on the whole time. Oops. If you want to support me in ways other than reviews and favorites, I made a Ko-Fi account so I can make a big of money off this if you're all feeling kind. Name's the same as this one, lightspeedbubba. Without further adieu, enjoy.**

"What happened to all the talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting like a team?" Weiss shook her head, clenching her fist.

"Not a team led by you." Her hands came to her sides as frustration welled up in her voice. "I've studied and trained and quite frankly, I deserve better." She turned her back to her partner, crossing her arms. Ruby reached out with her hand, not knowing what she should say. She was trying! Wasn't that enough? Ruby didn't want to be named leader, it's not her fault. "Ozpin made a mistake." With that, Weiss walked off into the hall, taking all of Ruby's fight with her.

Ruby let her head hang low as she turned around and started off towards her dorm. _I just want today to be over._ Being so focused on what she needed to do next, she didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her. Thankfully Headmaster Ozpin was paying attention and stopped just before the two could collide.

"Hmmm, now that didn't seem to go very well." Ruby's gaze found the floor as she wrung her hands.

"Is she right?" She looked up at him, feeling tears starting to form. _Don't cry, please don't cry. You can't cry in front of the Headmaster!_ "Did you make a mistake?" The man gave a small chuckle before replying.

"I think that remains to be seen." Ruby felt her eyebrow tick upwards.

"What do you mean?" He took a sip from his mug before replying.

"I mean, it's only been one day. Ms. Rose, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment as leader to be one of them." He leaned down, bringing himself to eye level with her. "Do you?"

 _Do I? Yes. No. Maybe? I haven't done anything right so far. But it has only been a day… I have no idea what I'm doing though! What if I don't have what it takes to be a leader? What if I don't have what it takes to be a Huntress at all?_ The headmaster had righted himself back to his full height before derailing her train of thought.

"Being a Team Leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?" _That makes sense, I guess._ He turned away from her, staring out the window at the fractured moon as he gestured back to her with his mug.

"You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility Ms. Rose. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it." Ruby opened her mouth to reply but the Headmaster was already walking away. He stopped and turned on his heel. "Might I recommend the gardens around the corner?" Ruby raised an eyebrow again. _Beacon has gardens? I guess it makes sense, not everyone is going to be training or in class all the time._ "It's a place I've always found that has a way of… putting things into perspective."

Ruby shrugged but followed after the man. The walk was short and silent, but it let the silver-eyed reaper have a bit of time to think about the garden back at her home in Patch. Her mom used to love planting peonies and magnolias every year, she said they acted as a great de-stressor after being out hunting Grimm. Her dad asked once why they never planted roses, like her namesake. Summer laughed and said that roses were a bit too pretentious and pointy for her tastes. She'd spend hours out there every week, making sure that they all lined up just the way she wanted, that every one of them got the perfect amount of water and sunlight. They were always so colorful and fragrant, so full of life. Just like she was.

When she died, so too did her garden. Ruby was too young to do anything about it, Yang had to double her roles as big sister and house mom. Dad still had to work and when he was home, he wasn't concerned about plants. After the garden withered away, it was like Summer did too, making the pain of her loss all the worse. Every day, a petal would fall from the flowers, the stems would wilt just a tad more, and the soil would dry to near desert levels. One day though, several hours after a summer storm that left their yard a cluttered mess of broken sticks and muddy water, a single white peony sat in the middle of the garden, surrounded by rotting wood and decaying flowers.

It was like her mother had been reincarnated and was telling them that sometimes, good things come out of the bad. With every storm, there came a rainbow. From that day on, Ruby tried to pick up where her mom left off, with her dad's help. Yang pitched in when she could, but flowers were never something she took to all that well. Together they planted hundreds of flowers over the years. Magnolias to lilacs to jasmine to plumerias and everything in between. This year, she and her dad were set to plant sunflowers, but Headmaster Ozpin offered her a spot at Beacon with Yang and the flowers fell to the deep recesses of her mind.

Rounding the corner with Headmaster Ozpin, they came face to face with a large glass domed room. Moonlight streamed in from up above, casting the world in a soft blue glow. There was a red brick pathway they led to the center of the room where a small stone area was nearly encircled by plants, flowers, and even a full sized Mistralian Maple Tree. Underneath the weeping scarlet leaves, sat a massive man in a short sleeved pale green robe with a pair of dark brown pants. His hair was shaved nearly to the scalp and his skin was lightly tanned. His legs, easily the size of tree trunks, were folded under him and his eyes were closed. Hands big enough to encapsulate the world clasped together, attached to arms packed to the brim with thick cords of solid muscle. The headmaster seemed to recognize him.

"Ahh, Mr. Daichi. I didn't expect to find you here at this time of night." The man opened his eyes and Ruby saw that they were the color of brown sugar, something that complimented his smile quite well.

"Good evening Headmaster. I'm sorry if I'm intruding. I can be out of your way in a moment." He made a move to get up but Ozpin shook his head after taking a sip from his mug.

"You're doing nothing of the sort, please continue." The man, Mr. Daichi, inclined his head and lapsed back into his spot. Ozpin turned back to Ruby. "Do you see what I mean Ms. Rose? This is a truly peaceful place, perfect to collect one's thoughts." Ruby nodded as she looked around the room.

"This place is amazing." She was taking in as many of the flowers as possible. There was a patch of gorgeous red spider lilies to her right and soft purple hydrangeas across from them that looked stunning in the moonlight. Headmaster Ozpin hummed in agreement before gesturing to the man in the middle of the room.

"You can thank Mr. Daichi here for much of this." Mr. Daichi smiled softly again, his eyes still shut.

"Thank you, Headmaster." Ruby felt her eyes go wide. _One person did all this!? This must've taken forever!_

"You did all this by yourself?" The man in pale green shook his head, looking up to her.

"Not exactly." He chuckled, a sound like a stone rolling down a hill. "The groundskeeping crew does a wonderful job in their own right and my team helps me from time to time."

"Don't be modest Mr. Daichi, this room wasn't much before you started attending Beacon." _Wait, what?_

"Wait, he's a student here!?" The Headmaster smiled and nodded.

"Yes, he is."

"I'm a second year with Team CFVY. My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi, it is a pleasure to meet you." He pushed himself to his feet, striding towards the pair. If Ruby thought he was massive when he was sitting down, he was positively immense at his full height. He was easily the largest person she'd ever met. Taller than her dad or uncle Qrow, even taller than Headmaster Ozpin himself, and easily twice as broad. Ruby looked at the massive hand in front of her, trying to reboot her mind. Shaking her head, she placed her hand in his, squeezing gently.

"Ruby… uhh Rose. I'm Ruby Rose." He chuckled into his other hand.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby Rose." He pulled his hand back before looking to the Headmaster. "Is there anything I can do for you both tonight or may I go back to my meditation?" The white-haired man was silent for a second as he took another sip from his mug.

"Actually Mr. Daichi, there may be something you can do for us." He cocked an eyebrow. "You see, Ms. Rose here is having some trouble getting acclimated to being a Team Leader." His other eyebrow joined the first further up his head.

"Oh, she's a student here? I assumed, since she was so small, that she was your niece or maybe a potential student for next year." Ruby stomped her foot, her face twisting into an angry frown.

"I'm not that small! I'm just… still growing is all" Her mind harkened back to something her mother used to tell her about growing big and strong. "I drink milk." She straightened her back and pointed to herself. Headmaster Ozpin gave a small laugh before nodding.

"Yes, Ms. Rose here is indeed a student. Admitted two years early albeit, but a student nonetheless." The larger man inclined his head towards Ruby.

"I'm sorry then, I meant no offense. You must be very skilled to be accepted two years early." Ruby began to falter. This is exactly what she didn't want. She wasn't special, she had normal knees!

"What? No. I mean, I'm pretty good, I guess. But I'm just a normal girl with." She lifted the hem of her skirt a bit. "Normal knees. See?" As soon as she did, she turned a deep scarlet. _No no no no no! Now they both think I'm weird… stupid stupid stupid!_ A deep chuckle dragged her from her self-loathing and she looked to see Yatsuhashi wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yes, I can see you have very normal knees." The Headmaster smiled and nodded.

"Indeed. Back to the matter at hand though. Maybe you can talk with her about how to be a good leader from the perspective of someone not in that position." The larger man nodded.

"I shall do my best." He turned to Ruby. "Please, come sit with me." He took her back to the place he was resting earlier as Headmaster Ozpin made his exit, claiming to have some paperwork to attend to. The massive student eased himself to the stone floor, gesturing for Ruby to sit across from him. He crossed his legs and Ruby did the same, her eyes travelling to the large tree that they sat under. It stood around fifteen feet high with a relatively thin trunk and drooping branches tipped with bright red leaves. He leaned back against the trunk with a soft sigh. "The Headmaster said you're having trouble in your new position." She nodded.

"It's just… I've never been a leader of, well, anything before. My partner hates me already, she might even try and get me removed from the spot, and I don't know if I think that's a bad idea." She shifted, tucking her knees under her chin, staring at the stone. "It's only been two days and I haven't done anything right. I don't know if I'm cut out for being a Leader."

"Ruby," He paused. "May I call you Ruby?" She nodded and he accepted the action. "When you decided to become a Huntress, were you as good then as you are now?" She shook her head. "As I suspected. What makes you think you'll be a great leader on your first day?" She shrugged. "Some people are naturally inclined to lead but others pick up things along the way and grow into the role. For example." He pulled out his Scroll, tapping the screen and bringing up a stream of pictures. He paused on one and showed it to her. "Do you see that girl in the beret? That's Coco Adel, my Team Leader." Ruby studied the girl. _She looks so cool!_ She could feel the confidence the girl had, even from just a picture. It was in everything. The flashy outfit, the subtle look from over the top of her sunglasses, her pose, the way her arms were draped over a girl with bunny ears and a boy with white eyes and red hair. Coco commanded the attention of all in view.

"When Team CFVY was first formed, I found Coco to be…" His face contorted as he tried to find the words. "Insufferable." Ruby cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" He slipped his Scroll back into the pocket it came from before folding his hands in his lap.

"She was brash, arrogant, and bossy. She wanted all of us to follow her orders without question, we were more like objects to her than people. We let this go on for nearly two weeks. We didn't want to be seen as a team that couldn't stand together, so we went along with Coco all the while loathing her. It wasn't until Velvet, the Faunus girl in the photo I showed you, put her foot down. She demanded input with what we did as a team and that we should all be treated with respect. Coco was stunned at first, she had thought she was doing all of that. But we sat her down and talked out our problems, we set boundaries and expressed our feelings. From that day on, things got exponentially better. We all came together as a proper team and now, I wouldn't trade any of them for anything." He smiled at the memory, eyes glancing over to Ruby.

"My point is, Coco was very much a bad leader in the beginning. She had to learn how to lead by getting input from her teammates, whether she wanted it or not." Ruby chewed on his words for a while as silence reigned in the gardens.

"So, you're saying I should just ask them what I should do?" He gave a noncommittal shrug that caused Ruby to narrow her gaze at him.

"I don't think it could hurt." Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

"How do I do ask them?" He smiled, head tilted to the side.

"I'm afraid I can't be of much help with that but I'm sure you'll think of something. Good luck, Ruby Rose." With that, his eyes closed, and his breathing became near imperceptible. Any other questions died on her lips and the silver-eyed reaper pushed herself to her feet, brushing her skirt off. She stuck out a hand in front of her, holding it there for a full seven seconds before realizing that his eyes were closed. She stuttered out an apology before scurrying to the door she entered through.

"Thanks, Natsu… Yansu-... Yatu-…?" She shook her head. "Thank you!" In her wake, a string of rose petals littered the floor as the large man sat there, a content smile on his face.

"Well, it's not the worst misnaming I've ever heard."

 **A/N: So, technically there is more to this story written already. This is really about gauging all of your interest in it and so on. Let me know in a review please. Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here we are, back again with AGT. The response was decent last chapter and hopefully will continue to be so. Let me know how you feel in those reviews folks, more reviews means more content. Enjoy.**

Ruby had become a regular at the gardens with Beacon's unofficial caretaker. Every Thursday night, right after training with her team, she would show up just before nightfall and they would watch the sunset together through the dome and talk. The waning light would cast the room in a soft orange glow, allowing some of the flowers to pop in ways that were nothing short of dazzling. After several weeks had passed, one day, Ruby showed up in a very un-Ruby-like mood.

She flopped down onto the makeshift stone bench, as she had grown tired of attempting to sit cross-legged, citing that it made her limbs fall asleep. Her face was set in a deep frown as she propped her head up on her fists.

"What do you do when someone needs help but won't let you help them?" Yatsuhashi cracked open an eye, turning to face his friend.

"If I had such an answer, I would share it." _That isn't helpful._ The eye closed and his breathing evened out. Quiet took over, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts. Well, her thoughts and an incessant tapping noise. The girl looked to her friend to see one massive foot moving back and forth, the sole of his boot striking the concrete over and over. She looked to his arms, usually calm and relaxed. Now though, she could trace the veins on his forearm like a roadmap. Finally, there was his eyes. They were shut like he was afraid something would pluck the eyeball from his head, his face scrunched in a manner that made it plain he was anything but relaxed.

"Are you OK, Yatsu?" His eye opened again and he nodded.

"Of course." He opened his other eye, cocking his head. "Are you?" She nodded, plastering on a smile that looked more like something stolen from a mannequin than a normal human facial expression. He shot her a look and the face crumbled. She leaned back, letting out a groan that was much louder than one would've thought her tiny body could produce.

"Cardin's a big jerk!" As the name left her lips, Yatsu's hand clenched into a tight fist and his jaw tensed. His mouth barely opened as he replied.

"Yes, yes he is." Ruby popped from her seat, pacing back and forth across the stone.

"What gives him the right to bully other people just because they're weaker than him, huh? So what if Jaune's a bad fighter, and not good at school work, and smaller than him? That doesn't mean he can pick on him! When someone needs help, you're supposed to actually _help_ them! Not make everything worse. But nooooooooooooooooo! Cardin needs to show off and prove how big and tough he is!" She threw her arms in the air in exasperation. "All it shows is that he's a big dumb jerk."

"I take it that this "Jaune" is a target of his as well?" She nodded.

"Yeah! We all see it! Cardin trips him in the hall, slaps his books out of his hands, and shoots spitballs at him in class. The worst of it is that Jaune won't let us help him. We've all offered to step in, his partner Pyrrha's even tried to actually stand up for him but he stops us every time." She groaned, plopping down on the stone bench again. "Why won't he let us help him?" Yatsu had all but given up on his attempts at meditating, instead choosing to rest his hands on his knees.

"I would tell you if I knew." For a moment, the only sounds were chirping birds and blowing leaves.

"Wait a second, you said "as well", is Cardin bullying one of your friends too?" Yatsu inclined his head, his mouth set in a thin line. "Can I ask who?" He was quiet for a beat.

"Do you remember my teammate Velvet? I mentioned her some time ago." Ruby nodded.

"The Faunus girl, right? With the big bunny ears?" He nodded, it took a moment for Ruby to process what he said but when she did, her eyes went wide. "Cardin's bullying an upperclassman!?" Yatsu simply sighed, nodding again. "Why doesn't she just beat him up and get him to stop?"

"I could ask the same of your friend, Jaune." Ruby wrung her hands, eyes finding the floor. If she thought that would help, she would've suggested it by now.

"Jaune's not the best fighter…" Yatsu gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"I can't say the same for Velvet. As for her reason for not standing up for herself…" He sighed. "She says that violence doesn't solve these kinds of things." He shook his head. "Unfortunately, she seems to be unable to be swayed to another course of action."

They were both being silly. Jaune should let Ruby and Co. deal with Cardin then he'd leave him alone. Velvet should easily be able to beat him up, maybe even his whole team. Ruby groaned, throwing her hands up in the air as her voice slipped into a mocking tone.

"She sounds like my dad. He's always saying stuff like that "violence never solved anything", "drink your milk", "no boys until you're thirty" blah blah blah. Then why do we fight Grimm if violence isn't the answer, huh?" She crossed her arms, thinking back to all the times she brought up this argument. None of them ever ended up swaying her dad, he just said that "that's something entirely different" and sent her to her room or something.

Yatsu chuckled into his fist. A sound that made the butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter. She shouted internally for them to quit it before shifting her attention back to her friend.

"My father said much of the same, Dad on the other hand always told me to not leave bruises.

Ruby scoffed and gestured to her massive friend.

"I think if you hit someone, it's going to leave a bruise no matter what."

Yatsu smiled and looked up into the orange tinted skies above. It had been a gorgeous day on campus as some warm air finally made its appearance, balancing out the autumn chill.

"I wasn't always this large, Ruby. Even I was small once." He said with a chuckle. Ruby waved him off.

"Sure you were, I'll believe that when I see it." He stared at her for a second before pulling out his Scroll and typing out a message. Well, if one could consider jabbing one finger into the keypad, hitting several keys simultaneously, and then frantically hitting delete over and over to be "typing."

"I'll have proof momentarily." As if on cue, the Scroll dinged and he smiled. Ruby plopped down next to her friend and he turned the screen to her. She was greeted to the image of six children with a stout man with closely cropped sandy brown hair and a wicked scar that went diagonally over his lips. Standing on the man's right, his arm on his shoulder, was unmistakably Yatsuhashi.

"Oh. My. Gosh! You were so small!" The boy was barely four feet tall and couldn't have been more than fifty, maybe fifty-five pounds if Ruby was being generous. Yatsu nodded his head, another n small smile finding his lips.

"Indeed, I was." Ruby stole the Scroll away, tapping the screen for a closer look at everyone. The children were lined up in front of the stout man, all throwing up two fingers in a V shape. They looked positively adorable in their little white outfits that were at least a size too big and the bright white belts that some of the kids were using like a headband.

"The guy with his hand on your shoulder, that's your teacher, right?" Yatsu nodded.

"Correct. He's also one of my fathers, Clay. He ran the studio out of the back of our home." Ruby nodded, studying the man again. Not only was the scarring evident on his face, his hands held a fair few of their own. He was also missing one of his front teeth.

"It's the tooth, isn't it?" Ruby cocked her head to the side. "You're staring at his missing tooth, aren't you?" She began to babble out a response. _Stupid Ruby, stupid stupid stupid! Dad always told you not to stare at people, that it was rude!_ Yatsu held up a hand.

"It's fine." He took a breath and nodded. "Clay… had a rough life before he met my other father, Oliver. You see, the style he teaches is known as bajiquan, or "eight-extreme fists". It's been passed through his family for generations as they were among the few who preserved the tradition after so long. He was an only child and when he told his family that he was never going to produce a biological child to pass along the art, they were… less than enthused." Before she could think about it, she found her hand going to his arm, giving a gentle squeeze. She pushed the Scroll into his face with the other.

"Does this look like a man who regrets the choices he's made?" Yatsu was silent for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. No he does not." He placed a massive paw over hers. "Thank you, Ruby." He stared down at the picture again before chuckling. "It's funny in a way, Clay passed on some of his teachings to me, hoping I would never have to use them, especially against bullies."

"You never had to, right? I mean, who was going to mess with the Master's son? That'd be stupid." Yatsu shrugged.

"You would be surprised what children think they can get away with when adults aren't looking." Rub's eyes widened.

"Wait, _you_ were bullied?" He gave a halfhearted nod.

"It wasn't for long, barely two months, but it happened. Like you said, I was small and some of them thought I received special treatment from Clay. They might have been right on that latter account, but my father did his best to treat all as equals."

"Well, how did you deal with them? Did you tell your dads? Did you beat them up?" Ruby hopped to her feet in an instant, throwing out flurries of kicks and punches at nothing in particular. Her mind screamed at her to stop, that she was embarrassing herself again but the laugh that came from her friend made it worth it.

"I stood up for myself and said that I wasn't going to take it anymore. Naturally, they pushed back against me and then, yes, I beat them up." Ruby threw her fist in the air, nearly jumping for joy.

"Good!" She smiled, sitting back down at his side. For moment, they say in peaceful silence. The fractured moon was rising up into the air, night having taken hold. She stared upwards at it before sighing. "Why won't Jaune and Velvet do what you did?" Yatsu's gaze followed Ruby's. His even breathing helped enhance the calming effect of the area and she felt her hand creep towards his on the stone.

 _Bad Ruby! No! You're just friends and even if you weren't, he's eighteen and you're fifteen! What if he's seeing someone? What if he doesn't even like girls?_ But still, her hand inched onwards. Thankfully, his voice broke her out of her trance, causing her to shake her head.

"I cannot say. We can only hope that they come around in time." Ruby felt heat travel up her cheeks as Yatsu turned to her. "Your cheeks are red. Are you feeling well?" She hopped up to her feet, throwing up her hand in a salute that she knew she'd mentally flog herself over later.

"Never better!" She gave an awkward laugh. Ruby needed to get out of there before she embarrassed herself any further. So, she faked a yawn, adding a soft moan and stretching to hopefully make it look more natural. "It's getting late and I have class tomorrow I should get going." Yatsu stared at her and for a moment she thought he was going to call her bluff, or worse, offer to walk her back to her dorm. Yang would never let her hear the end of it if that happened. He checked his Scroll and nodded.

"You're right, I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time." Just then, the piece of technology chimed and the face of a dark-skinned girl with bright blonde, almost white, hair appeared on screen. A small smiled played at her large friend's lips. "Goodnight Ruby." She nodded vigorously, waving off his mention of monopolizing her time.

"Goodnight Yatsu, sweet dreams." He nodded

"To you as well." Ruby nearly sprinted from the gardens as she tried to justify holding hands with Yatsu in her mind. _We're just friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S._ She repeated the thought all the way back to her dorm.

 **A/N: Like I said up top, let me know how you feel about this chapter in a review or some kind. Next chapter is mostly done so hopefully I can get it out faster than last time. Semester is starting though so I make no promises. Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy and review. Also, I commissioned some cover art from a friend so now we have that. She does great stuff so check her out at Wander2theedge or Frazzagram on Twitter.**

Fall turned to Winter and then to Spring, ushering in the annual Vytal Festival. The last time Ruby remembered being this excited was, well, last year's festival. She spent several days brainstorming attack patterns with her team and daydreaming about their victory parade before she realized that Team RWBY would more than likely be running up against her two best friend's teams: Teams JNPR and CFVY. With Team JNPR, it provided a perfect chance to get revenge for what happened last year. She was _not_ going to let Pyrrha wipe the floor with her team two years in a row, no sir. She had a perfect plan to deal with her this year. Yatsu and Team CFVY were another story though. They managed to avoid meeting last year, on account of Coco and Yatsu getting ousted in the doubles round by two kids from Haven.

Ruby was reasonably confident that Yatsu wouldn't mind losing to her. After all, he lost all the time when they were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors or thumb wrestling and never got upset, even when she chea- bent the rules. He never even got mad when she rubbed it in his face, not like Yang, who always gave her noogies when she stuck her tongue out or anything of the like.

Of all the friends Ruby made through her two years at Beacon Academy, she never would've guessed that Yatsu would be among them. The two continued to grow closer over the passing months, something Yang kept bringing up. Every time Ruby would leave for her and Yatsu's hangout sessions, her big sister would make a comment, usually to the effect of 'tell your boyfriend we say hi' or 'be sure to use protection, I don't wanna be an Auntie yet.' Ruby would blush and stammer out that they're just friends before using her Semblance to dash down the halls. It was true! They _were_ just friends, but Yang's words did do one thing: they kept the thought of something more in her head.

The longer Ruby thought of it, the more she liked the idea. He was tall and smart, gentle and calm, handsome and sweet. If he ever asked her out, she would definitely give him a chance… She shook her head. There was no need to think about such things. They were friends after all! Just… friends…

Thoughts of her _friend_ clouded her mind so much that her feet carried her to the gardens on instinct. As she rounded the corner though, she heard voices.

"I can't do this anymore, Yatsu." Ruby stopped dead in her tracks. Even from the hallway, she could feel all of the air sucked out of the room. When Yatsu replied, his voice was hollow.

"What do you mean?" The other person, a girl with platinum blonde hair and a yellow robe with one sleeve stood across from her friend. Ruby recognized the girl immediately, she was from Team ABRN, the team they beat in the first round of the Vytal Festival last year. The girl, Arslan if Ruby remembered correctly, sighed.

"Us. I… I think we need to break up." Ruby's was slack jawed. She didn't even know he had a girlfriend, let alone that things weren't going well. Yatsu never said anything about her before. Why didn't he tell her? For a moment, Ruby felt a bit betrayed. She would've thought they were close enough to talk about that kind of stuff.

"Why?" Ruby may not have known Yatsu for too long, but in the time they'd been friends, she'd never heard him so… defeated. "Did I do something wrong?" Arslan shook her head, opting to sit down in the same spot Ruby always chose when she watched Yatsu meditate. Irrational fury welled up inside her that only intensified when the girl answered his question.

"No, it wasn't something you did." She sighed. "It's just… the distance." He cocked his head to the side. "We're nearly on opposite sides of the planet Yatsu! I get to see you three, _maybe_ four times a year. I… I can't deal with that anymore. It's just too taxing, I'm sorry." There was a pregnant pause as she looked up to the glass dome. Ruby's anger died off as she could see the light reflecting off the tears in Arslan's eyes. She brought a hand up and wiped the water away. "Maybe we could still be friends." Arslan sniffled, taking a step back and blinking away the last of the tears.

"Goodbye, Yatsu." She turned on a heel and slipped out of the gardens. As the blonde walked past her, Ruby fully realized that she was privy to a conversation she _definitely_ shouldn't have been and began to whistle while rolling on her feet with her hands clasped behind her back. If Arslan noticed, or cared, she didn't let it be known, as she rounded the corner and was gone from sight.

Now Ruby was conflicted though. Did she go in and talk to Yatsu about what happened? That would give away that she'd been listening in on them, even if that hadn't been her intention. But would being left alone really help him right now? Ruby knew she wouldn't want to be alone at a time like this.

She called upon her resolve, crushing down her fear as she stepped inside.

"Yatsu?" His gaze popped up to hers and he brought a massive arm to his face, rubbing his eyes. Ruby felt a crack form in her heart as she watched him plaster on a smile faker than Weiss's interest in Port's 'lectures'.

"Ruby. It's good to see you. How are you doing today?" She frowned.

"I… I heard what happened." The smile faded immediately.

"So you did." His shoulders slumped as he leaned against the Mistralian Maple. Ruby waved her hands in front of her.

"I wasn't trying to listen in, I swear! I was just coming to talk to you about the Vytal Festival and I heard you guys talking and I tried to not listen but then she said what she said and then I didn't know if you wanted to be alone right now but-" He held up a massive hand.

"It's fine Ruby."

"I didn't know you were seeing someone." He nodded.

"Arslan and I have been together- were together - for a little over three years. We started dating right back in Mistral at Sanctum Academy." Ruby wrung her hands together.

"I'm sorry Yatsu." He shrugged his shoulders, letting out a deep sigh.

"You've nothing to be sorry about, Ruby. Thank you though." Slowly, Ruby joined him in leaning against the tree.

"Is there anything I can do help?" He ran a hand through his buzzed hair.

"Do you have some way to fold Remnant so Haven and Beacon are closer together?" Ruby shook her head. "Then I don't think there's anything to be done." He slid down the tree, his knees drawing up to his chest. "It's all my fault." Ruby stared at Yatsu for a second before flopping down on the ground next to him.

"Nope." He turned his gaze to her and she spied tears forming in their ducts. She could feel her heart crack and begin to crumble. He sniffled, blinking away the tears and clearing his throat.

"What?" Ruby reached out, placing a hand on his massive shoulder.

"Yatsu, this isn't your fault." He shook his head.

"Of course it is. _I_ was the one who left the country. _I_ was the one who left home. _I_ was the one who put distance between us." A sob racked his core and Ruby's heart finally shattered into thousands of tiny fragments. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could, her hand gently rubbing his back. She felt his arms close around her, squeezing her like he was afraid she'd try and leave too, as the dam broke and he began to openly cry. It was an oddly quiet sound, like his voice wasn't strong enough to reach a higher volume. Ruby was more used to her sister's ear rending wails.

Nearly an hour passed before his tears slowed and he let her go. He wiped the remnants of his episode on his sleeve. His cheeks were near scarlet and his eyes puffed up like they'd been stung by rapier wasps.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that in front of you." Ruby shook her head.

"It's OK Yatsu. You're allowed to lean on me when you need to. That's what friends are for." _Just friends…_ He stared at her for a what felt like an eternity. Ruby could feel heat rising up her cheeks and the thumping of her heart in her chest. Eventually, he nodded and a small smile formed, causing her heart rate the skyrocket even further.

"Thank you Ruby. That means more to me than you can know." She smiled brightly and became acutely aware of just how close the two of them were. Her cheeks turned as red as her namesake and she fought the urge to throw herself to the other side of the room. Her hand had shifted from his lower back to the side of his stomach and she could feel the sculpted muscle of his core. With a shake of her head to force the thoughts out, she willed her mouth to produce words.

"Do you feel better at least?" He nodded, shifting out of her embrace but only to side hip to hip with her.

"Slightly. I doubt I'll be fully better for several weeks."

"I'll be there for you for as long as you need." He inclined his head once again and an idea popped into her mind. "You know, when Yang got broken up with back at Signal, to help get over it, we made fun of the guy all night. Think that would be helpful?" He seemed to consider the idea for a moment before shaking his head.

"I hold no ill will towards Arslan. I'm not happy with her decision but I understand why she did what she did. I'm not going to lie and say things were easy on my end either, having to wait months in between getting to see one another but I would've rather talked about it first than just break up." He sighed and Ruby nudged him with her elbow.

"Maybe you could bring that up to her and work things out." Mentally, she slapped herself silly. _Stupid! This was our opportunity! Opportunity for what? To claim him as ours, duh! Why would I want that? We're just friends._ She repeated the mantra of "just friends" until the psychological war came to an armistice. All the while, Yatsu seemed to consider the idea before shaking his head again.

"I doubt it would be any use. Arslan was always… stubborn, for lack of a better term. She was very much the type to make a choice and stick with it."

The two sat in comfortable silence for what could've been hours but in reality, was merely minutes, basking in the warm Spring air. Many of the flowers in the garden were beginning to bloom, and with that came an unending wave of wonderful smells like honeysuckle and lavender. It wouldn't be long until the magnolias would start to come out and with it, the anniversary of what happened to her mom. Sadness began to claw at her heart but thankfully, Yatsu broke the silence with a question.

"When you arrived, you said you wanted to talk about the Vytal Festival?" She nodded profusely.

"Right!" Her voice came out louder than she intended, causing her to overcompensate the opposite direction. She fumbled with her words until what came out was. "I just wanted to make sure we could still be friends after the tournament." He cocked an eyebrow.

"Of course we would, do you plan on cheating like you usually do or otherwise doing something to make us not friends?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Ruby Rose does _not_ cheat!" He scoffed but didn't push the issue so she continued with her point. "I wasn't sure if you'd take losing to Team RWBY personally if we get matched up in the tournament." He let out a short bark of a laugh.

"Maybe I should be asking you that question."

"We've got a real-life ninja, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, a human wrecking ball in Yang, and me." She said with a smirk. Yatsu crossed his arms over his chest.

"Such confidence from one so small." Ruby puffed up her cheeks, jabbing a finger into his arm.

"I am _not_ small!" A small smile played at his lips.

"You're right, allow me to rephrase. 'Such confidence from one so tiny.'" In a split-second, Ruby leapt onto him, shoving him over into the dirt.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Yatsu let out a yell in an octave he didn't think himself capable of reaching before trying to drag the girl from his torso. In his attempt, Ruby began to tickle under his arms, causing him to fall into a fit of giggles and laughter.

The 'brawl' carried long into the afternoon, even causing them to miss lunch. Ruby wasn't disappointed though, she liked to think she helped quite a bit. Even if he was still hurting, she'd be there to dull the pain as much as she could. After all, that's what _friends_ are for.

 **A/N: Before anyone asks, I know the Vytal fest isn't a yearly thing but I had to make a couple changes for the sake of the narrative. I'll probably think of a way to work it in properly next week and piss myself off but that's neither here nor there. I hope you all liked this chapter, let me know in a review and as always, may Fortune favor you all.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, Depression and school kicked in. Leave a review please.**

Yatsuhashi Daichi awoke just after the sun cracked the horizon like he did every other morning; hanging halfway off of his bed. While being seven feet tall and weighing in close to three hundred pounds had many distinct advantages, including never having to struggle with seeing the board in class, being able to strike fear into the hearts of those that wished to fight him (for the most part), and never getting carded at the liquor store when Coco determined that they needed to get "get turnt" as it were. One of the distinct _dis_ advantages was that he required an extra-large version of pretty much everything. Something the young man had tried to make very clear to Headmaster Ozpin during his first semester at Beacon.

He was met with a common answer, "we'll fix that right away" only for nothing to be done and his back to suffer. By his third and final year at Beacon, he and back pain were old friends. He wouldn't call his setup "comfortable", but it beat sleeping on a floor by at least a little bit. If there was one advantage to being constantly uncomfortable in his bed, it was that he never overslept and was always up in time to get in the breakfast line early in the cafeteria. On most occasions, he even managed to bring back food for his team, something they appreciated greatly. Team CFV_ were not a fun bunch to be around before they'd had their various brews and meals.

He placed the tray of eggs, bacon, sausage links, toast, and two bagels with cream cheese on Velvet's nightstand, taking great care to not wake the sleeping Faunus girl. He'd made that mistake only one other time before and was adamant about not repeating it. Thankfully, Fox and Coco were significantly lower maintenance, only requesting a simple protein shake and a tankard of black coffee respectively. He snacked on his own breakfast consisting of two muffins while thumbing through Beacon's social media feed, Spotlight, looking for something to do today. _I could text Ruby… Maybe we could head into Vale and catch a movie or something._

He shook his head at the idea. Not because he didn't want to, far from it if he was being honest, but because he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by her maybe thinking he was asking her out. They were friends, end of story, no matter what that little wave of happiness that came over him when she walked in the room or those butterflies that fluttered around in his stomach implied otherwise. For crying out loud, she was three years younger than him! Would it even be legal for them to date? Did he even care?

Even if he was able to move past their age gap, he was very confident that she didn't reciprocate his feelings. Call it a gut feeling. Ruby sept quite a bit of time with him in the days after Arslan broke up with him, and he never caught any lingering gazes or hugs that went on longer than most would consider appropriate. No almost kisses or moments of prolonged eye contact. Though that could be chalked up to his eyes being full of tears and his face stuffed with ice cream.

When his emotions settled down however, Yatsu had gone to the foremost expert on women that he'd ever come across, a master of dating and the feminine mind, Fox Alistair. He laid out all of the facts, everything that he thought was relevant that had happened between the two of them and awaited Fox's words of wisdom, well his hand gesture of wisdom. Fox may not have been Mute, but he was the next closest thing. It took his teammate less than ten seconds to assess that Ruby did _not_ have feelings for him, confirming his fears with a thumbs down. Immediately after, Yatsu left Fox to do what everyone did when they discovered that would be eternally alone; he drowned himself in ice cream… again.

It was safe to say that Yatsu didn't want to ask Ruby out and potentially ruin their friendship so asking her to go see a movie or get food were completely out of the question. His eyes shifted to the time on his Scroll and he nearly dropped his muffin. He needed to get to the gardens and make sure the plants got the proper amount of water. He traded his sleeping shorts and nightshirt for a pair of mud-covered khakis and his old training robe, the one with the bleach stain on the chest. He slid out the door, waving goodbye to his team. In his haste, he might've slammed the door harder than he should have, if the snarl that came from Velvet's bed was any indication. Oh well, it wasn't his problem any more.

He hustled down the hall and began mapping out his plan for his watering cycle, drawing it out in the air with his finger. He was just finishing it when he came upon the Gardens and heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Mom." There was a sniffle. "I don't know if you can see me at Beacon from up there but I hope you can. You'd love this place." She went silent for a time before nodding, like she was getting a response. "It reminds me a lot of the garden we had back home in Patch. I even helped Yatsu get some peonies and magnolias for this year, I hope you like them." _She was quite insistent on them being put in this year._

Yatsu was half-tempted to sit in the doorway, listening in but thought better of it. Hours upon hours of scolding from Clay and Oliver came rushing back to his mind like a wave. He took a breath, composing himself. Just before his feet could carry him forward, he paused. What did he say? Does he open with offering condolences? Does he tell her that he was listening in? Should he leave her to her privacy? Should she be alone on a day like this?

He shook his head and stepped into the threshold of the gardens. He tried to make his arrival as obvious as he could, Yatsu would feel quite bad if he scared Ruby again. He put a little extra emphasis on his steps and when that didn't get her attention, he cleared his throat. She turned, a sad smile on her face.

"Hey Yatsu." He inclined his head.

"Good morning Ruby." That was as far as he got. All the possible avenues for conversation died on his lips as she turned and looked into the flower patch again. Gently, she crouched down before them.

"How much did you hear?" Yatsu nearly began to panic and began sputtering and stuttering out excuses, most of which were complete nonsense. He was trespassing on a special moment, one that Ruby would more than likely prefer to be private. Thankfully, she didn't let the word vomit continue for too long, instead shaking her head.

"It's OK." Yatsu felt breath return to his lungs and he nearly collapsed in relief.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I can come back later." He turned to make his exit when a hand closed around his.

"Don't go. Please." Her voice was weak, as was her grip. He closed his hand around hers, nodding and turning back to her. "Thank you." She took a breath, trying to compose herself, and dragged him to the patch of peonies. "Mom, this is Yatsu. He's the one I talked into planting the flowers you liked and he's a really great friend too." Yatsu bowed his head.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Rose." He didn't know what to expect after that. Loss of a family member was a, thankfully, foreign emotion to him. Clay and Oliver were in fantastic health and he had no siblings, his adoption had been early enough that thoughts of his biological family were nonexistent. A quiet had set in, with only the dull chirp of birds that sat atop the glass dome overhead for a soundtrack. Yatsu was intently aware that Ruby still held onto his hand and his mind couldn't help but focus on it.

It was colder and rougher than he'd expected, but not in a bad way. On a logical level, it made sense. Of course her hands would be covered in calluses and not baby soft, she was an aspiring Huntress that swung around a massive sniper rifle scythe after all. It was nice in a way, it made her more human. His thumb traced the side of her palm and he felt a tiny nick, probably a memento of the early years of trainings, gods knew he had his fair share.

"It's been ten years since…" Her grip tightened so his did as well.

"I'm sure she was a wonderful woman." Ruby nodded.

"She was." A sad laugh escaped her lips. "Dad always said she was "Super Mom" since she'd come home from a week's long hunt and still find time to tell us a bedtime story." Yatsu's heart broke for Ruby. More than anything, in that moment, he wanted to empathize with and comfort Ruby. He wanted to take all of the pain she was feeling, stuff it into a box, and burn it so she might find peace again. It was then though that remembered reading somewhere that nobody is really gone, so long as their name still holds a place in someone's heart.

"Tell me about her, if you please. I'd love to know more if it's not too painful." Ruby was silent for a moment before releasing his hand. _No._ He fought the urge to take it back as she eased herself to the concrete, ushering for him to do the same.

They sat for hours with Ruby passing along what had to be at least one hundred tales of "Super Mom" Summer Rose. It was astounding that Ruby recalled so much, despite her being so young in the time before her mother's passing. She never really finished, more so that her voice was beginning to get hoarse and their stomachs called out for sustenance.

Ruby pushed herself to her feet and Yatsu did much the same. Before he could thank her for regaling him with some truly wonderful stories, she wrapped him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you." A soft sob racked her body as his arms closed around her. Gently, he stroked her hair as silent tears stained his shirt. He didn't mind, as long as he could be helpful in some way.

"Of course." She remained in his arms long after the crying stopped and he was hesitant to let go. It felt so… right. He even began to question Fox's previous ruling. Despite their massive size difference, they fit together perfectly and he began to long for things that he only ever really dared to dream of. The two were only broken apart when a third person came in, clearing their throat.

It was Yang. Yatsu and the blonde brawler had never really hung out before, instead only passing pleasantries along when he and Ruby met up but he liked her well enough. She was someone he greatly respected as a warrior and was invaluable when it came to prank wars.

"Hey Rubes. Weiss has been trying to get a hold of you for a while, might want to check your Scroll. We had to hold her down so she didn't round up a search party or start interrogating students." Ruby slid away from him quickly as blush stained both her cheeks and his. He knew there was nothing wrong with what they were doing, Ruby did as well, but Yatsu knew Yang well enough that she might very well just start wailing on him under the guise of "training" or the more likely, and honesty more terrifying, route of using this moment as source of future mockery. The blonde's overprotective nature has softened during her time at Beacon but enough of it still remained that he was weary.

Ruby drew out her Scroll and her eyes went wide. Yatsu spared a peak and his eyes did the same. Eighty-six messages, seventeen missed calls, and even one emergency ping. She trotted towards the doorway.

"I'm going to go find Weiss, sorry for making you guys worry." Yang waved off her baby sister.

"Don't worry about it. I figured you needed some alone time today." Her expression had shifted, taking on a more serious look. "Are you OK?" Ruby nodded.

"Yeah, Yatsu was with me this year." Yang turned to him and his gaze found the floor, becoming very intent on the craftsmanship.

"Good. Now go find Weiss before she has a heart attack." He looked up to see Ruby nod and hustle to the door again.

"Bye Yatsu, thanks again." He bowed his head once more.

"Of course." And she was gone, only rose petals in her wake. Now he was left with Yang and he felt his pulse quicken.

"I appreciate what you did for her." Yang had sat down on the stone bench on the far side of the gardens. "She usually has me today but I was on a mission with Blake yesterday, and we didn't get in until late last night and slept through the morning." He nodded.

"You don't need to thank me, Ruby is… someone I care about a great deal and I would be remiss to not be there for her in her time of need." Yang eyed him up and down for a time and he became infinitely self-conscious. After a time, she nodded.

"Come on, last time I saw Weiss she was canvassing the lunchroom looking for any Ruby Sightings, and I'm starving." Once more, he nodded.

"I'll join you momentarily, I need to get my wallet from my dorm." She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, it's on me." He stared at her for a moment and inclined his head. She stood and he began to follow her into the hall. Yatsu turned back one last time and would've sworn that he saw a figure standing in the peonies. She looked remarkably familiar, sporting short dark hair with red tips and white cape. She was crying but also smiling. She mouthed something at him.

 _Thank you._

 **A/N: This didn't take much longer than I usually do but it felt longer so sorry again. Leave some thoughts in a review and share this with a friend if you want. If you really like me, shoot some money at me on Ko-fi (lightspeedbubba). Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, its been a while. Sorry about that, had a death in the family and there were midterms happening so I was a bit overwhelmed. On the bright side, this is the longest chapter yet! Enjoy.**

There wasn't much about Beacon that Yatsu hated. He had a wonderful team that he would do anything for, as well as some amazing friends outside of said team. Besides that, there were some excellent professors that he truly believed made him a better, more well-rounded Huntsman. Long gone were the days of grinding through Port's lectures or struggling to keep up with Doctor Oobleck. Even the food was fantastic, a far cry from the dregs that Clay used to serve back at home. He loved the man, he truly did, but he could never understand why Oliver let him cook as much as he did.

That all being said, one thing Yatsu couldn't stand was the ceremonies. Beacon seemed to have one every other week. First day of the semester? Ceremony. A new training facility was finished and opened to the student body? Ceremony. The Headmaster got a new mug from the store? Ceremony. It was enough to drive him insane.

None of it held a candle though to graduation. A shining achievement for every Huntsman and Huntress. They survived one of the prestigious academies and would now be given their official certifications and then, presumably, be sent off to take some missions from those in need. In Yatsu's ideal world, the whole ordeal would take forty-five minutes, an hour tops. The worst part would be the line, as that's typically the worst part of anything. Sadly, among the many virtues Headmaster Ozpin tried to impart upon them in their three years at his school, speed didn't seem to one of them. That was why Yatsu was essentially lying in a white plastic chair that was almost comically too small for him, baking in the third heatwave of the month.

They couldn't just graduate, no. They had to practice it. Everyone would be paired up with their partner and they were to walk from their dorm room in rows of two all the way to the center courtyard near the fountain. In that spot, they were to sit and wait for speeches to be given, awards to be handed out, and then for their names to be called. It was hell, complete and total hell. The worst part had to be the outfits. They were to wear formal wear underneath the stuffy, ill-fitting gown as well as a ridiculous hat that didn't sit right on anyone's head, let alone someone with one as big as him. Couple wearing a warmth trapping suit with a gown that seemed to insulate him even more with the fact that they were in direct sunlight and he was sure that at least five people would need to be taken away for heat stroke.

He didn't envy his partner, Velvet. The girl's gowns were just as stuffy and the dress might've been more comfortable underneath, but heels? In the grass? It just wasn't fair. He knew she asked if she could go with flats but she'd been told that it's "tradition", which just meant it was his job to help her work out the unholy rage she felt in the training room after that meeting.

At least today was the final day, the day of the actual event. Every day for a week, struggling to get into his ill-fitting forest green suit that Clay had near forced him to get, something about it bringing out the shades of brown in his eyes. To his right, Velvet was, if he could be forgiven for saying so, hopping mad. Her ears were drooping and her gaze was filled with murderous intent as she stared at Professor Goodwitch, who was going over the ending of the ceremony one last time.

"When your name is called, you will exit to the center of the aisle, go up the RIGHT-hand steps," She stared deep holes into boy with a buzzcut of blue hair across the way. "Then you will shake the hands of the professors who are lined up on stage, then go to Headmaster Ozpin who will give you your diploma and an ID card. Take that card to the Huntsman Association Office in the city, that's where you will get your full, official licenses." She scanned the crowd, looking for any looks of confusion, there were none, Yatsu was sure. Not because they were all confident things would run smoothly, but because if they had to stay here a minute longer, the question asker might be boiled alive. "Meet out in front of your dorm building in the proper lines at six PM. Dismissed."

Yatsu near sprinted from his seat. He needed to get out of his suit and back into something comfortable pronto. In his haste, he was sure he knocked over six underclassman and at least one professor. Oops. He scanned his Scroll to gain entrance into his team's dorm and immediately tore the robe from his body, balling it up and pegging it into the corner of the room. He didn't bother undoing the any of the buttons of his ensemble, instead choosing to pull and hope for the best, busted buttons be damned. He was left in just a pair of boxers when the door opened and the rest of Team CFVY showed up. Velvet blushed and looked away while Coco wolf whistled at him, Fox gave no comment on account of his blindness. Yatsu slid into a forest green tank top and athletic shorts while the rest of them slid out of their awful attire.

"That was fun." Fox's heretical words were met with a ball of wadded up gown and a series of stern glares. Coco plopped down on her bed, dragging a brush through her hair.

"So, what're we doing on our last day as a team? We've got" Her eyes drifted to the clock on the far wall. "Eight hours until we have to go back into that hellscape. We should do something BIG. Something they'll be talking about for generations." Yatsu sighed, leaning back on his bed.

"Coco, are you suggesting we do a quote unquote 'epic prank'?" Her lips curled into a devious smile and she looked at him over the tops of her sunglasses.

"I would _never_ suggest something so _devious_! However, if you guys wanted to…" She wiggled her eyebrows at her teammates. Velvet and Yatsu shared a look while Fox shrugged his shoulders. CFVY's resident mountain and bunny girl had a full conversation with just a single glance. It happened in less than a second, leading to the two of them nodding and turning back to their teammates.

"No." Coco glared at the two of them.

"You never let me have any fun." Velvet scoffed.

"Maybe if your idea of 'fun' wasn't getting plastered drunk, streaking through campus, or defiling school property, we'd be more amicable." The brunette fashionista glared at Velvet.

"Hey, painting Port's stupid bust of his own face pink and doing it's makeup was a great idea, I don't care what anyone says." Yatsu sighed with a smile. He was going to miss times like this. Just moments alone in their dorm, talking with his team. They wouldn't all be going their separate ways or anything, bigger jobs with better pay required more Huntsmen and Team CFVY's motto always was "bigger is better", so they would still be together. Still, it wouldn't be the same, more than likely, they'd never set foot in this room, maybe never even on Beacon's ground, again.

In a moment, Yatsu decided he wanted to spend a little more time in the gardens, say goodbye to three years of hard work and dedication. After that, he'd have to find Ruby. The realization that he probably wasn't going to see her as much hit him like a runaway freight train. No more shooting the breeze while he watered the plants. No more trying to teach her how to meditate. No more talking under the night sky. No more hugs. No more anything…

He hopped to his feet and made his way to the door.

"I'll be in the gardens if you all need me." It was Coco's turn to scoff.

"Yeah, you'll be all up in Ruby Rose's 'garden'." She ground her hips into the bed while making various saxophone like noises. Thankfully, Velvet admonished her for her crass language about his _friend_. As he stepped out the door, he heard Coco call out to him. "Put in a good word with her sister for me, yeah?"

As his feet carried him to the gardens, he tried to think of what he was going to say to Ruby. "Goodbye" felt too final, he wasn't going off to die in the woods or anything, he was going to stick with his team and probably do some jobs outside the walls, maybe head home and help Oliver with village defense from time to time. "See you later" felt cheesy and inauthentic, it could be months before they talked again and while that is technically later, that's really not what the phrase meant. He figured he'd think it over while watering the plants until he crossed the threshold and saw Ruby Rose, standing in front of the patch of peonies, watering can in hand.

She turned to him, a big bright smile on her face. His heart began to hammer into his ribs, chipping away at the bones.

"Hey Yatsu." He opened his mouth but nothing came out, he was spellbound. Rays of light streamed in from the dome above, surrounding her in such a way that she seemed to have earned herself a halo. In that instance, he had a moment of clarity. He couldn't deny it anymore, or dance around the topic, or make excuses for the feelings that were there that he actively repressed. They were in the forefront of his mind now and he couldn't turn away. There was no other way of putting into words what her felt for her. Yatsuhashi Daichi was in love in Ruby Rose.

She brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes and made her way to him, presumably to pass along one of her customary 'greeting hugs'. She assured him that each hug was different and special in their own way, they all meant something.

In a second, she was in his arms, watering pail tossed to the side. She always made a point of leaping up into his embrace, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder and her feet to dangle. Yatsu never wanted to let go and, in that moment, thought about not graduating. He had no idea if he could even do it, but to stay here with her, he'd definitely try his best. She pulled away and retrieved her can, returning to watering the peonies.

"Today's your big day. Are you excited?" _No. I don't want to leave, I want to stay here, in this garden, with you._ He gave her a small smile, sitting down on the stone bench and ushering her to do the same.

"In a way." She looked to him to elaborate and he sighed, looking to the stone at his feet. "I'm beyond excited to be graduating, it's what I've been looking forward to since I got to Beacon. But now, I don't want to leave. There's… a lot here that I'm going to miss." He glanced at her and then back down to the ground as his cheeks heated up. She was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Don't worry Yatsu, I'll take care of the gardens while you're gone." His brows furrowed for a moment but then softened as he came to understand. She must've thought he was worried about his plants dying, truthfully, they'd been the farthest thing from his mind. He nodded.

"I know you will." He watched as her hands wrung together and her own eyes were focused on the stone below.

"What're you going to do after you leave?" He looked up to the streaming sunlight.

"I planned to take a few missions with my team and then heading home for a bit, maybe help Oliver with guarding the village or something to that extent."

"Are you ever going to come back to Beacon?" He turned to her, an eyebrow cocked. To his knowledge, alumni couldn't just come and go as they please and, if he was honest, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Could he really come back and see Ruby whenever he wanted? Would the school allow that? Would she even _want_ that?

"I… I don't think I can." She shook her head, her gaze hardening as her hands balled up into fists.

"You can! My Uncle Qrow comes back a few times a year to talk with the Headmaster." Yatsu perked up a bit.

"Really?" She nodded. "Then I'll drop by whenever I can." Her smile had returned and she had all but attached herself to his arm.

"Make sure you come back next year for _my_ graduation. It's going to be awesome!" He smiled softly and nodded.

"Of course. I'll make a big banner and bring a giant bell to ring when your name gets called." She nodded emphatically.

"Don't forget the streamers and oh oh! Maybe a confetti cannon!"

"But of course. I'll bring as much as I can, maybe even a foghorn or two." She giggled at that and Yatsu nearly melted. _Whatever you want Ruby._

"You're going to have to bring your A game Yatsu if you want to one up what I have planned." He simply nodded.

"I can't wait." It marked the first time since the whole ordeal started that Yatsuhashi was looking forward to the ceremony.

-/-

"Coco Adel." The crowd roared with applause and cheers while the aforementioned girl smirked and strutted up the right-hand stairs to the makeshift stage. She loved the attention, reveling in it. If Yatsu didn't know any better, he would've said it even powered her Semblance. She shook hands with enough grace that she could've been mistake for royalty. If Coco had been anyone else, Yatsu might've been plotting her death for making the ceremony take longer than necessary but, it didn't bother him when she did it. Though he might be a bit biased.

"Fox Alistair." Thankfully, his battle brother understood the urgency of the situation and hustled up the stairs. His handshakes were quick and robotic, in the way that a robot would fumble around with human customs like Fox did when trying to locate someone's hand in all the noise. His disability didn't hold him back from much, but when things were really loud and chaotic, finding small objects became a bit difficult for him. At least, that's what he told them, which might've been a joke. He was never sure with Fox; a deadpan delivery had that effect on humor.

"Velvet Scarlatina." She'd come a long way in her years at Beacon. From being too timid to talk in class and stand up for herself against her racist bully, to being able to stride up the stairs like she owned the building and everything in it. It was a sight to behold and Yatsu was so proud of her. It seemed that she even learned to traverse grass in heels, something he found immensely impressive.

It was his turn next and his palms were sweating, not just because of the clothing either. He knees were weak and he felt like he was going to throw up. It was walking, the easiest job in the world, nobody could mess it up. He took a deep breath and braced himself.

"Yatsuhashi Daichi." Applause rang out through the air, the likes of which he had never heard before. There was no way he was that much of a crowd favorite and Oliver and Clay weren't there to add to the noise, intercontinental travel was a bastard and he told them not to worry about it. No, it wasn't his family or the crowd on the whole. It only took one look into the sea of people to see who was really the source of all of the hubbub. It was Ruby Rose, waving a giant green flag with a chibi version of his face on it. She was bouncing off of all the people surrounding her, even nearly taking out a small child that sat in front of her. He shot her the biggest smile he could, nodded his head and made his way up the stairs. He had a celebration of his own to plan.

 **A/N: Sorry again about the delay, I'll try to not let it happen again. Next chapter is the finale so you all have that to look forward to. Let me know all your thoughts in a review. Until next time, may Fortune favor you all.**


	6. Finale

**A/N: Uh, sorry about that wait. Longest chapter yet to make up for it. Reasoning at the bottom. Review please and enjoy.**

Yatsuhashi Daichi had stared death in the face many times in his relatively short life, making your living fighting Grimm and being partnered with someone infamous for her morning moodiness would have that effect on anyone. In all of those cases, he liked to think he acted bravely and dignified. Sitting in a Bullhead, clothed in a suit, surrounded by tons of parents wearing much the same, he felt worse than any time before.

He tapped his foot incessantly and tried to not crush the bouquet of flowers in his hand. Every couple of seconds, he would wipe his hands off on his pant leg, trying to get rid of the torrent of sweat that was coming off of him.

His mission today was a simple one with three distinct parts; Part one - attend Ruby's graduation. Part two - give her the flowers. A bouquet of red and black roses with a single white one in the center. Part three - confess his feelings. Even as he sat there, going over the plan in his head, he shuddered. He was confident in his feelings, had been for a while now. He was reasonably sure that Ruby returned said feelings, if Velvet was to be believed (which she was). The whole thing boiled down to six words, none of which were even longer than four letters. _Will you go out with me?_

In an effort to practice, he tried saying the words the Velvet. In retrospect, he probably should've told her it was a test and not a real question, might have saved him from some awkwardness. The worst part of the experiment, besides having to backpedal and reassure his partner that they were only friends, was that it didn't even work! He felt somehow less confident after that. Being around Velvet didn't make him nervous, it didn't make his palms sweaty, or his heart feel like it was going to burst from his chest. Ruby was just different, she was special.

Being so lost in his emotions, he didn't hear the announcement to exit the bullhead. Thankfully, a large man with bright blonde hair and a scruffy beard nudged him with a shoulder.

"You coming or not?" Yatsu looked up and stared at the man. He looked familiar, something about his hair kept nagging in the back of his mind, like he'd seen the man before. Pushing the thought from his head, he nodded and stood up.

"My apologies, I'm a bit out of it today." The man shook his head and told him not to worry about it, gesturing for Yatsu to follow him out. He took the opportunity to stretch his arms and back, feeling the pops in his joints. It brought a small modicum of relief from his stress as sitting hunched over in those seats played hell with his muscles. The man pointed to the flowers in his hands.

"Got a hot date tonight?" Yatsu let out a nervous chuckle.

"If all goes well, I very well may." The man clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Son, you look like you're about to pass out." Was it that obvious? He hoped to at least play it off but apparently, he was a worse actor than he thought.

"Listen kid, let an old man give you some advice alright?" Yatsu nodded, at this point, he'd have taken advice from Professor Port if he thought it would help. "Stop thinking." Yatsu cocked an eyebrow. Stop thinking? How could he? What did that even mean? He had to fight off the urge to roll his eyes. "I know what you're thinking. 'This guy's crazy, what does he know?'" Yatsu gave no indication one way or the other about his feelings but the stranger was closer than he thought he would be. "Hear me out. Do you like the girl?"

"Of course." The man nodded.

"You want to take her on elaborate dates and all that jazz?" Yatsu nodded back. "You want to kiss her under the pale moonlight?" Maybe not all of that specifically but the idea did sound nice. "Well, then you need to stop. Thinking. Just take a couple of deep breaths and relax. You'll be golden so long as you don't overthink the whole thing and psyche yourself out." Seeing as he had nothing to lose, he gave it a go.

Breathe in, hold it for a few seconds, and then let it out. In and out, nice and slow. After nearly half a minute, he felt a bit better. He was still terrified but it didn't threaten to consume him entirely now.

"Thank you, sir." The man clapped him on his shoulder again.

"Go get her kid, be confident." Yatsu nodded and made his way into the school. After making it nearly halfway to the auditorium, the nerves reared their ugly heads again. Deciding that enough was enough and that what he needed right now was a quick meditation session, he changed course to the Gardens.

Thankfully, it was empty. He would've felt bad throwing out people looking for a perfect spot to take a selfie or some graduation photos, but this was his space and he'd be damned before he gave it up in his hour of need. He was pleasantly surprised to see things were still looking as beautiful as when he'd left. Not that he thought the groundskeeping crew (and Ruby) would shirk their duties but, he simply didn't think anyone would take care of them up to his standards.

Plopping down at the base of the Mistralian Maple, he began to slip into his Zen. It didn't take long for the effects to start kicking in. His heart rate was getting down to a more manageable level and the butterflies that were assaulting his stomach had decided to stop and break for lunch. With a final breath, he opened his eyes and began to stretch. Sitting stock still on the concrete was about as bad for his back as the bullhead seats. All seemed well until someone stepped out of the shadows and into the fading light of the Gardens.

He was a tall man, rail thin with jet black hair sprinkled with strands of silver. Normally, Yatsu would've been drawn to the tattered cloak that hung off of his body, or the wicked blade that rest horizontally on a mount on his lower back, but the first real detail he processed seeing was the leather-bound flask that the man was chugging. Yatsu was about to tell the man the drinking on school grounds was against the rules and doing so out in the open was just asking to be kicked off the premises when the man held up a single finger.

Eventually, the man brought it down from his lips and dropped his finger. Then he stared at him, eyes narrowed like he couldn't quite figure out what he was. Yatsu felt eerily self-conscious in the moment. Was he really sweaty? Did he smell? The man then shrugged and Yatsu opened his mouth once more to ask what he was looking for but he was drowned out by a titanic burp that seemed to shake the building. So impressed by the display, Yatsu forgot reprimanding everything he was going to say to the stranger.

"Hey, kid. They still do graduation outside?" The man sounded like he'd been a pack a day smoker for the better part of a century and now that Yatsu paid more attention, he smelled like a liquor store. He shook his head.

"No sir. They moved it inside this year." The man nodded "Thanks." Then he turned on a heel and marched back into the hallway. The exact opposite direction of his desired location.

"Sir! Sir!" Yatsu called after the man. In all his experience with drunk people, few and far between as it was, he knew at the very least that the intoxicated individual shouldn't be left to their own devices. Memories of Coco flirting with every woman she saw flooded into his mind and he shuddered. The man turned; an eyebrow cocked.

"You need something, kid?" Yatsu shook his head.

"No sir, it's just that you're going the wrong way." The waved him off, continuing on in his journey.

"I'm just taking a small detour kid, relax." Before Yatsu could reply, the stranger rounded the corner and was gone. With a shake of his head, he took out his Scroll and checked the time. Crap! He needed to get a move on if he wanted to get a decent seat. Gathering up the flowers and dusting himself off, he sprinted down the hall. Thankfully, he managed to not run anybody over, though there were a few close calls. He made his way through the throngs of people until someone called out.

"Yo, Jolly Green Giant! Over here!" He turned to see Yang waving her arms amidst the crowd. The near oppressively yellow gown coupled with her golden hair made Yang… hard to miss. Yatsu made his way over, nearly tripping over a little girl in the process. As he reached his destination, he realized who Yang was standing with; The man from the Bullhead! And the Smelly Drunk! His brow furrowed, how had that man beaten him here? With a shake of his head, he went in for a one-armed hug with the blonde graduate.

"Hello Yang, congratulations on graduating." She scoffed.

"You say that like there was ever a chance it wasn't going to happen." He smiled.

"There was never a doubt in my mind." She gave him a gentle punch in the arm, well, as gentle as she could, and then gestured to the two men she was standing with.

"This is my dad, Tai, and my Uncle Qrow." She turned to them. "Guys, this is Yatsu." Yatsu held out a hand.

"It's nice to formally meet you sir." Tai took his hand and squeezed.

"We've heard quite a bit about you over the years." Yatsu ran a hand through his hair awkwardly.

"Hopefully they were good things." He moved to shake Qrow's hand but the man simply stared at him, thumbing his flask.

"You dating my niece kid?" Yatsu's hand dropped and he began to sputter.

"What? No- I mean- Not that I wouldn't. But Ruby and I are just friends!"

"So, you're too good for her, that's it?"

"No! It's not that, it's just that- Well, I didn't think she liked me like that and…" He trailed off as he heard the man break out into a fit of crude laughter. It sounded like gravel being run through an industrial compactor. The man called Qrow was messing with him. Of course he was.

"It's not _that_ funny Uncle Qrow." He looked to see Tai wiping a tear from his eye and shaking his head.

"Yang's right. It's hilarious!" Then he joined the dark-haired man in a puddle of snickers. Yang gave him an apologetic look before heading down to the main area to take her place for the ceremony. Yatsu felt his cheeks begin to burn and he decided to take a seat in the hopes that nobody would join in. Eventually, they stopped and a hand was placed on Yatsu's shoulder.

"Alright kid, now that we've got that out of the way, let's get serious." He turned to Qrow, who had begun to lean forward and seemed to want to be as close to Yatsu as he possibly could be. "You and Ruby aren't knocking boots or anything, right?" The young Huntsman blushed but shook his head.

"No sir. We're just… friends." The man nodded and Tai picked up from there.

"Judging by the fact that you showed up with flowers _and_ in a suit, I'm guessing you want to be something more?" Yatsu nodded.

"I… yes sir. I think I could make her really happy and she could do the same for me." Tai stared into his soul it seemed. On some level, Yatsu knew something like this was going to happen. Of course her family would give him 'the talk' as it were. If Ruby and he did get together, Oliver would probably give a very similar speech. That didn't make it any easier to bear though.

"Alright." The word caught him off guard. Alright? What did that mean? Did he approve? Was that Tai's way of giving his blessing?

"Alright?" The man nodded.

"Alright. You're allowed at least one date. Anything more… well, we'll see. Depends on if Zwei likes you or not." Zwei? Who the hell was Zwei? It didn't matter now though; he got the OK! Not that he'd been waiting on it, or even expecting it, but it was still nice.

"Thank you, sir." The man leaned back, crossing his arms as Qrow took over.

"Do we need to say what happens if you hurt her?" Yatsu shook his head.

"No sirs." The man shrugged.

"Good." He then kicked up his feet on the bench in front of him and took a swig from his flask. Thankfully, there were no more incidences after the initial meeting. Sure, they grilled him about his family and his young Huntsman career, but those were simple things. All he had to do was tell the truth, so he did.

Speeches were then made from the Headmaster, ones that were near identical to the one given last year, and then it was time for the diplomas to be given out. The affair went off without a hitch, and when Ruby's name was called, Yatsu, Tai, and Qrow all erupted with thunderous applause as well as hoots and hollers. She looked into the stands and smiled, nearly turning Yatsu's knees to mush.

Taking the opportunity, he motioned and mouthed for her to meet him in the gardens after that ceremony. It took a couple of tries but she gave him a thumbs up. As soon as she got back to her seat, Yatsu made his exit, saying goodbye to his future family. Now was the moment of truth.

Making his way back, he tried to plan out what he was going to say when she got there. Should he confess immediately or wait until after they talk for a bit? Should he present the flowers before or after the confession? Should he wait for proper sundown or was twilight preferred? So many options!

In the midst of his thinking, he heard footsteps and turned. There she was, draped in an obnoxiously yellow gown wearing a smile that seemed to outshine the sun.

"Yatsu!" She was on him in an instant, throwing herself into his arms. He caught her easily enough and began to spin slowly. It felt so right, so perfect that he had to stop himself from kissing her instantly. The timing had to be perfect. He slowed his spinning and eventually set her down.

"It's good to see you Ruby. I missed you." She nuzzled into his chest.

"I missed you too." Eventually, she pulled away and he led her to the stone bench where they sat side by side. He reached down and snagged the bouquet of roses he'd squirreled away underneath the seat, handing them to his crush.

"Congratulations on graduating." She snatched them away nearly before he could get his sentence out.

"They're so pretty! Thanks so much!" She hugged him again, after taking a deep whiff of the arrangement. He hugged back and took a deep breath. It was now or never. The sun was setting, casting the world in a deep orange.

"I'm glad you like them. I have something else for you too, a question actually." She cocked an eyebrow. "Well, you know how we've been friends for a while, right?" She nodded. "And, well you know how some people go from being friends to boyfriend and girlfriend?" Again, she nodded, but slower this time. "Well, I was… wondering… if, you know… we could…" He trailed off and stood, needing to work off some of the energy inside him. He paced back and forth, the butterflies coming off of their lunch break with a vengeance. Suddenly it was far too warm, so he ditched the suit jacket onto the ground. When she spoke, he froze.

"Yatsu, are you… asking me out?" He was too afraid to look back so he nodded. From there, Ruby got quiet and he began to panic. Had he been wrong the entire time? Did he misread everything? Did she only see him as a friend? Not good, this was _not_ good. Their friendship was over, ruined even. She'd hate him and cut him completely out of her life. Then he'd spiral and not keep up his training, causing him to be a worse Huntsman. That would get all of his friends killed! He wouldn't be able to deal with all of that! What would he tell their families? All because he confessed. Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

So caught up in his panicking, he didn't hear Ruby calling to him. She didn't get through until she tugged on his arm and spun him around. Sometimes he forgot how strong she was, even without the Aura enhancement. It was just one of the thousands of things he loved about her. Before she could get a word in, he rambled.

"I'm sorry Ruby, I should've known you didn't feel that way about me, I just-" She kissed him. Ruby Rose was a woman known for her ridiculous speed, never more was that shown than in that moment. It was a brief kiss, a second or two longer than a peck but it was incredible. Her lips were as soft as he imagined and she tasted of fresh baked cookies, probably the ones she hid in her secret stash under her mattress.

"Of course, I'll go out with you." Yatsu's mind caught up with the situation and he smiled. In this moment, there was nowhere else in the universe that mattered. The world was just Yatsuhashi Daichi and Ruby Rose in their garden for two. And that was all that they needed.

 **A/N: I'll keep it real with y'all. I forgot about this story several times. I had a busy time, went to a convention out in Pittsburgh, then finals were coming up and I picked up more hours at work. Still, I'm sorry this took so long. Multi-chapter fics are always hard to stay motivated on for me. Anyway, I'm thankful you guys stuck with this and I hope it met all your expectations. If it did (or didn't) put it in a review and I'll see you all in the next story. Until then, may Fortune favor you all.**


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